OPINION: INCESSANT HIKE IN HOUSE RENT IN KOGI – TIME FOR GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
Your Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, Executive Governor of Kogi State and Chief Servant of the People,
With deep concern, I write to draw your attention to the unbearable and incessant hike in house rent across Kogi State, especially within the Lokoja metropolis. What was once manageable has now become a full-blown crisis affecting families, civil servants, students and the vulnerable.
Residents are being squeezed by exploitative rent demands, while workers especially civil servants are struggling to keep up. Shelter, a basic human need, is fast becoming a luxury in the state capital. This situation demands urgent, practical and people-centered government intervention.
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Your Excellency, a practical and lasting solution lies in the construction of a 1,000-unit housing estate strategically spread across key areas of the state, with a significant portion designated as low-cost housing for civil servants and low-income earners. Such a bold step would not only crash rent prices but disrupt the exploitative monopoly landlords currently enjoy.
It’s imperative to note that the last meaningful housing intervention in Kogi State was under Governor Ibrahim Idris (2003–2011). What followed during Gov. Idris Wada’s tenure were flood-related projects that lacked structural and long-term value. In all, Kogi State has witnessed over 14 years of housing policy neglect. The consequences are now evident.
Your Excellency, your administration has an opportunity to reset the housing narrative in Kogi. A clear, well-funded housing policy under your watch would ease the suffering of your people and set a new standard for people-focused governance.
Let this be one of your administration’s landmark interventions.
Let’s make housing affordable, accessible and of-course dignifying once again.
Thank you!
– Abdulkadir Bin ABDULMALIK
OND (Law), B.Sc, Pol. Sci, M.Sc Pol. Sci.
Political Behaviour and Public Policy Analyst
Email: abdulmalikabdulkadir@gmail.com
Kogi State, Nigeria
07/01/2026
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JANUARY 7TH 2026)
